Voices are heard in our big, small state

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

By Henry Sweets

A couple of weeks ago I had a chance to meet three of Wyoming’s Republican candidates and one of our Senators at the Lincoln Day Dinner at Spring Creek Ranch. My photographer, Andrew Wyatt, came to photograph the candidates, with three of the four images appearing on our cover this week. Andrew, who has a penchant for patchwork pants and unfettered self-expression, was wearing vertical striped multi-colored pants, a rainbow-striped fleece cardigan, a green blazer and a green and orange striped beanie. Andrew and I met Sen. John Barrasso, chatted with him about Wyoming, about skiing, and about his recent honeymoon in Jackson.

When I told a friend that a psychedelic photographer and his shaggy scribe friend did not get a single dirty look from what we thought could be a stodgy crowd, she replied, “that’s because your votes are statistically significant in this state.” Sure, my vote could actually show up as a decimal somewhere in the final tally, but I think the scope of Wyoming’s smallness is much bigger than that.

When I called to interview U.S. congressional candidate Bill Winney, I dialed a cell number from a campaign pamphlet and he answered on the second ring. Mark Gordon and Cynthia Lummis, also candidates for Wyoming’s lone seat in the U.S. House, both stopped by our office with their campaign managers for a cup of tea before cruising off to campaign at the next lunch, dinner or breakfast somewhere in Wyoming.

Four winters ago, I arrived in Jackson at night, after a two-day drive from Tennessee. The next morning, I saw the Tetons for the first time through my foggy apartment window. In four years I went from a fledgling ski-bum to a journalist interviewing congressional candidates. I didn’t even take the fast track, just ask my friends.
Many transients get a “real job” and participate in the exchange of information and resources that shapes Jackson’s future. Slowly they identify themselves as a Wyoming resident, and not just a migratory hedonist.

I might not be here in one year or five years, but until my peers realize how loud their voice is in Wyoming, I am afraid that my say in the matter won’t count.
Are growth and open space truly incompatible in a county that is already 97 percent protected? Is efficient and aesthetic density possible somewhere in our town center? Are we fighting over suburbia south of town when the real solution exists right under our noses?

Until the dialogue is as open as Wyoming, and the creative voices of the future are heard, we might never know.
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Voices are heard in our big, small state | Planet JH News Article: Editorial

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